5-4-2009 — Manitoba Harvest — Peanut butter has long been one of North America’s favorite comfort foods, but the recent, massive product recall scare and the growing number of people with tree nut allergies have boosted culinary experimentation with “alternative” seed spreads that are pleasing health-minded consumers. One of the popular new healthy alternatives to peanut butter is Hemp Seed Butter. While peanut butter has often been touted as a nutritious spread, nutrition experts and consumers are recognizing that Hemp seed butter with its 2000 milligrams of Omega-3, and 11 grams of protein per serving (2 tablespoons), blows peanut butter away.

Even though more than 181 million people in the U.S. use nut butters on their toast or in their sandwiches, according to a 2006 report from market research firm Packaged Facts, adventurous foodies are finding that the new wave of gourmet seed butters that are replacing peanut butter spreads in refrigerators across North America are an ideal way to add natural texture, flavor, color and nutrition benefits to recipes. Below is a delicious recipe by Kristen Suzanne of Kristen’s Raw courtesy of hemp foods leader Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils (www.manitobaharvest.com), which exemplifies this fun culinary trend.

In addition to the important nutrients found in all-natural Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Butter, what it doesn’t contain also makes nutrition experts happy: no Trans Fats, no hydrogenated oils, no cholesterol, no added sugar, no gluten, no preservatives and no artificial colors or flavors.

Hemp seed butter has an attractive emerald green color, due to its rich content of chlorophyll, a powerful antioxidant. It’s an added bonus that Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Butter is an ecofriendly product made from non-GMO hemp seed that is grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides.

Hemp seed butter can substitute for other nut or seed butters in just about any recipe, for more recipe ideas, visit www.manitobaharvest.com/recipes. In addition to being a healthy and tasty ingredient blended into smoothies and sauces, or combined with herbs and spices to create delicious pates and dips, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Butter is also ideal as a spread for sandwiches, breads, bagels, crackers and croissants.

According to a study published in the December 2003 edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the incidence of peanut allergy in children doubled between 1997 and 2002 to 600,000. Because hemp is not known to be an allergen, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Butter is perfect for jelly and butter sandwiches in children’s school lunches, especially since many schools are warning parents not to provide foods like peanut butter that might affect other kids with sensitivities. Approximately 2.2 million U.S. school-age children have food allergies and 1 out of 17 children under the age of 3 has a food allergy, according to the advocacy group Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). Manitoba Harvest customers do not have to worry about allergen cross-contamination during production of their seed butter because Manitoba Harvest makes their Hemp Seed Butter in their own dedicated allergen-free facility.

Like other nut and seed butters, hemp seed butter should be refrigerated after opening and then consumed before the expiration date. All Manitoba Harvest products are packaged in light-impermeable packages and flushed with an inert gas to prevent oxidation. The SRP for a 10-ounce jar of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Butter is $9.99 and it is widely available at stores in the U.S. and Canada and at www.manitobaharvest.com. Please feel free to pass on the promo code Spr09HSBPR to receive 20 percent off an unlimited quantity of 10-ounce Hemp Seed Butters at their webstore. This code will expire June 21, 2009.

Founded in 1998, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils is the largest vertically integrated hemp food manufacturer in the world. Manitoba Harvest produces cold-pressed Hemp Oil, Shelled Hemp Seed, Hemp Seed Butter and a line of Hemp Protein Powders at their new, certified organic state-of-the-art facility. They also produce Hemp Bliss, the award-winning and first-ever line of organic non-dairy hempmilks. In addition to their own popular brand of hemp foods, Manitoba Harvest supplies many other leading consumer brands with nutraceutical and functional hemp food ingredients. www.manitobaharvest.com.

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